Big first quarter propels Coldwater boys past Pennfield on Hall of Fame night

COLDWATER, MI. — The Coldwater boys basketball team raced out to a big 17-2 first quarter lead that they would never look back from Friday night as the Cardinals rolled to a key Interstate 8 conference win, defeating the Pennfield Panthers by the score of 60-36.

“The guys did a great job tonight with coming out and executing the game plan we put together from the very beginning,” said Coldwater head coach Aaron Bucklin. “They came out and got right to work defending the way we wanted to defend and attack the way we wanted to, they did exactly what we asked of them and they had great results because of it.”

Coldwater came roaring out of the tip off, using big buckets from Donte Work and Zach Coffing along with a free throw from Niko Downs to build an early 8-0 lead at the five minute mark of the first quarter. Pennfield finally got on the board thanks to a tough inside bucket by Graham Boyd, however that would be the final time Pennfield would find the scoreboard throughout the first quarter of play. Coldwater continued to build on their lead thanks to buckets from the trio of Work, Coffing and Downs down the stretch to build a huge 17-2 lead after one quarter of play.

The second quarter was very similar to the first as the Cardinals continued to control the pace of play on both ends of the floor. Coldwater managed to extend their lead to 20 points at the four minute mark after a Gavin Taylor free throw, pushing their advantage to 24-4.

The Cardinals continued to hold the 20 point advantage until a small run by the Panthers at the three minute mark closed the score to 26-10, leading to a Coldwater timeout. Coldwater senior Elijah Sloan wrestled away momentum from the Panthers by dialing up long distance, hitting back-to-back three pointers to push the Cardinal lead back to 20 plus points, as Coldwater’s lead climbed to 32-10 with just under a minute left in the half.

Coldwater ended the half on a high note as Sloan once again buried a three pointer as the buzzer sounded, sending the game to the locker room with the Cardinals leading 37-12.

Pennfield looked to try and get back into the contest early in the third quarter however a 6-0 run for the Cardinals near the five minute mark pushed their lead to 43-15, seemingly taking the wind out of the Panther’s sails. Buckets from Work, Downs, Evan Porter, Tyson Roby and Ayden Dirschell paced the Cardinal third quarter effort as Coldwater managed to outscore Pennfield 13-11 throughout the third quarter, with the score standing at 50-23 after three quarters of play.

Coldwater went deep to the bench in the fourth quarter, getting some much needed minutes for their role players, minutes that could pay dividends as the season progresses.

“You always love to see some of the guys who don’t get in there much get out there and get an opportunity. We haven’t been able to do that much this season until tonight so it was really great to see it,” said Bucklin. “To get those guys extended minutes is so important, getting them real game time minutes will be very important for us. On top of that the guys on the bench were going crazy for each other and cheering on their teammates, the student section was loving it and that’s really great because those guys come to practice the same as everyone else and work just as hard. It’s really cool to see them get out there and get their moments.”

Although Pennfield managed to outscore Coldwater 13-10 in the fourth quarter, big buckets from the likes of Jack Ruden, Sloan, Porter and Steven Covell helped the Cardinals coast to the big victory, winning by the score of 60-36.

Coldwater put together a very balanced attack throughout the night as 10 different players found the scoreboard. Leading the way for Coldwater was big man Donte Work who had a game high 16 points to go along with eight rebounds and two steals.

Senior Elijah Sloan also hit double figures in the victory, pouring in 12 points thanks to four 3 pointers. Sloan also added two rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Also adding to the Coldwater effort was Zach Coffing with eight points, three rebounds and one assist; Niko Downs with seven points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal; Evan Porter with seven points, seven rebounds, and two assists; Steven Covell with three points and three rebounds; Jack Ruden with two points, two assists, and one assist; Ayden Dirschell with two points, two rebounds, one assist and two steals; Tyson Roby with two points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal; Keavyn Zabonick with three rebounds, one assist and one block; and Gavin Taylor with one point, two rebounds and two assists.

Pennfield was led on the night by Graham Boyd who had 15 points. Coldwater focused much of their defensive efforts on stopping Boyd, which seemed to work as the senior was the only Panther in double figures.

Pennfield falls to 3-4 overall on the season and 1-3 in the Interstate 8, with their next action coming Tuesday when they travel to Hastings.

Coldwater improves to 4-5 overall on the season and 3-2 in the Interstate 8. The Cardinals will next see action Tuesday when they continue their Interstate 8 conference schedule with a trip to Harper Creek.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Big first quarter propels Coldwater boys past Pennfield on Hall of Fame night